1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus having a continuous shooting function, a image pickup method, and a storage medium storing a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique of photography a person on the background of a night view has been proposed, which provides an image in which both the person and the night view look conspicuous.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-086488, for example, discloses such a technique. In this technique, a flash-on photography and a flash-off photography are continuously performed.
The image acquired in the flash-off photography and the image acquired in the flash-off photography are processed to compose a composite image in which both the main object and the night view are appropriately lighted and therefore look conspicuous.
In this technique, a high photographic sensitivity is set in the flash-off photographic mode so that the night view may be appropriately exposed. As a result, thermal noise will remain in the image.
The image composition may solve the noise-related problem in the region having the person's image. In the other region of the image, however, the thermal noise remains. The thermal noise inevitably results in the recording of a low-quality image.